Checker game apparatus

ABSTRACT

A checkerboard and checkers wherein the board is formed in readily separable sections for ease of carrying and compactness. The checkerboard surface has shallow recesses at all of the playing squares which prevent the checkers from sliding appreciably. The alternate squares which separate the playing squares on the board are more deeply recessed to facilitate the storage of checkers which have been &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;captured&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; or &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;jumped.&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; The separable board sections are joined by elements received in bottom recesses formed by upwardly formed hollow bosses whose tops are the bottom walls of the playing square recesses.

United States Patent 1 1 3,610,627

[72] Inventor David MeadePeebles 3,057,624 10/1962 Bassett... 273/136 325 Mar y O H l, M 20021 3,434,719 3/1969 Fyanes 273/131 1 pp 854,947 FOREIGN PATENTS ggf 31 2331 1,267,579 5/1968 Germany... 273/136 16,560 1904 Great Bntam 273/137 Primary Examiner- Delbert B. Lowe Attorney-B. P. Fishburne, Jr. [54] CHECKER GAME APPARATUS lclalmfinrawmgmgs' ABSTRACT: A checkerboard and checkers wherein the E, board is formed in readily separable ections for ease of carry- 273/136 GB ing and compactness. The checkerboard surface has shallow [51] Int. Cl A63f 3/00 recesses at a" of the playing Squares which prcvcm the [50] Field of Search 273/131, h k f sliding appreciably The alternate Squares 137 which separate the playing squares on the board are moredeeply recessed to facilitate the storage of checkers which [56] References Cited have been captured' or jumped? The separable hoard sec UNITED STATES PATENTS tions are joined by elements received in bottom recesses 16,116 1 1/1856 Goodwin 273/136 formed by upwardly formed hollow bosses whose tops are the 2,687,305 8/1954 Wales 273/136 bottom walls of the playing square recesses.

PATENTEU OCT 5 l9?! ATTORNEY CHECKER GAME APPARATUS CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application contains subject matter in common with each of the following prior copending applications of the same inventor: Ser. No. 776,874, filed Nov. 19, 1968, for CHECKERBOARD AND CHECKERS, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,520,537; Ser. No. 698,853, filed Jan. 18, 1968, for GAME APPARATUS, now US. Pat. No. 3,531,122; and Ser. No. 707,677, filed Feb. 23, 1968, for GAME APPARATUS, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,531,123.

The objective of the invention is to provide a sectional or knockdown checkerboard which stacks up into a compact package while not in use. The board, when assembled, has the conventional checkerboard face and the playing squares, preferably in a contrasting color to the intervening nonplaying squares, are recessed slightly whereas the nonplaying squares are more deeply recessed. The deeply recessed squares form storage compartments for the checkers which have been taken out of play. The slightly recessed playing squares coact with the checkers to prevent them from sliding about on the playing surface. The checkers themselves are constructed for ready nesting or stacking without sliding. The four sections of the game board are releasably locked in assembled relationship by a simple plate device underlying them having projections which interfit with the hollow bottoms of the shallow recessed areas. Alternate means for maintaining the board sections assembled may be employed.

The apparatus is particularly useful on a moving conveyance or on the beach or at a picnic in the park where conventional checkers would likely be lost. Small children, the aged and the handicapped will find the apparatus much easier to cope with than conventional checker games where the slightest trembling or jarring of the board will displace all of the checkers and spoil the game. The increased utility and practicality of the invention will be more readily apparent as the description proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIGURES FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a checkerboard game ap paratus embodying the invention, with some of the checkers omitted for clarity of illustration and some parts exploded.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section through the checkerboard and some checkers in active play and stored positions.

FIG. 3 is a bottom-exploded perspective view of the board and its interlocking means. i

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the assembled board and interlocking means with the checkers omitted.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views of board section securing elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout the same, the numeral 10 designates identical checkerboard sections which are separately formed and well adapted to be molded from plastic although they could be constructed from other material. The individual board sections are square and each forms a quarter section of the traditional and conventional checkerboard playing area and the several sections 10, when assembled, make up a conventional checkerboard as shown in FIG. 1. When the sections are separated, they may be stacked one upon another with the individual checkers 11 contained therein to provide a very compact package.

Considering the entire board, H6. 1, the playing squares 12 which receive the checkers during play are all colored in a like manner and have their surfaces recessed slightly below the top face of the board for a purpose to be described. The actual bottom faces of the playing squares 12 may constitute thin plates 13 of plastic or the like, suitably colored and resting upon the tops of upstanding hollow bosses 14 formed at the squares '12 by the molding process. If desired, the elements 13 may be adhesively secured to the bosses 14. In other cases, the elements 13 may be omitted and the slightly recessed bottoms of the playing squares may simply be formed by molded webs integral with the board structure and suitably colored.

The intervening squares 15 which separate the playing squares 12 are much more deeply recessed so that these squares will provide storage spaces for the checkers 11 as they are captured or taken out of play during the game. Thus, it will not be necessary to set the checkers aside from the board and risk the loss thereof.

The bottoms of the nonplaying squares 15 are formed at a uniform level by the flush bottom web 16 of each board section 10 at an elevation well below the elements 13 which also lie in a common plane above and parallel to the web 16. The nonplaying squares 15 are colored to contrast with the playing squares in the usual manner. Each of the board modules or sections 10 formed as described above is quite rigid and durable and will withstand continued rough usage. Each board section 10 has a marginal sidewall, as shown clearly in the drawings, and the depressed or recessed squares l2 and 15 produce a network of intersecting right-angular ribs or webs spanning each board section between its marginal walls.

In order to releasably interlock the several board sections 10in the assembled game playing position, FIG. 1, a thin plate underlay 17 is provided beneath the four sections and the ele ment 17 carries plural upstanding cylindrical projection elements l8 fixed thereon which enter the bottom of one hollow boss 14 on each board section 10, as shown by the broken lines superimposed in FIG. 3. The projection elements 18 are also shown in broken lines in FIG. 4 releasably engaged in the respective bosses 14. Other means may be employed to temporarily secure the board sections together, such as slips to straddle adjacent marginal edge walls of the board section or a simple raised rectangular frame on a. table surface into which all four board sections 10 may fit snugly in assembled relationship and be readily removable from the frame.

The checkers ll proper are nonoonventional in that each checker is recessed at 19 in its top so that it may receive in the recess a reduced-diameter bottom end portion 20 of another checker with stability as when kings are to be formed. This prevents the stacked checkers from sliding. The end portions 20 of the checkers in play enter the shallow recessed playing squares 12 in a like manner, FIG. 2, and this interlocking arrangement positively limits the shifting or sliding around of checkers on the board, although they have some free movement within the playing square.

As the checkers are taken out of play, they are preferably inverted, FIG. 2, and placed in the storage compartments afforded by the more deeply recessed squares 1S. Normally, the back rows or king rows of storage compartments will be used first for storing the checkers until finally all checkers are out of play and stored in the deep compartments. Other than for this storage feature, the game of checkers is played in the conventional manner and the rules of the game are well known and need not be dealt with herein. The salient features of the invention reside in the separable board sections 10 and the means to secure them, the differentially recessed playing and nonplaying squares 12 and 15 for the purposes described, and

the recessed nestable or stackable checkers 11. It is thought that the various advantages of the game apparatus will now be readily understood without the necessity for further description herein.

Regarding alternative means for securing the board sections in assembled relationship for playing checkers, FIG. 5 shows a wire fastener 21 which simply fits over the interior corners of the four assembled sections arranged as in FIG. 1 to temporarily secure them. FIG. 6 shows a sheet metal channel fastener 22 which fits over the top edges of the webs defining the interior corners of the board sections to releasably secure them in assembled relationship in lieu of the fastener means already described including the elements 17 and 18.

I claim:

releasably interlock said board sections in temporarily assembled relationship in a common plane to make up a complete checkerboard, said means comprising an underlying plate engaging below the board sections, upstanding interlock elements on said plate, said board sections having bottom recesses receiving the interlock elements removably, and said bottom recesses formed by upwardly formed hollow bosses whose tops produce the bottom faces of the playing squares. 

1. A checker game apparatus comprising in combination a checkerboard formed in plural separate sections adapted to be releasably secured in assembled relation to make up a complete board for playing checkers, said complete board having alternating shallow recessed playing squares and more deeply recessed nonplaying squares adapted to store checkers as they are taken out of play, a conventional number of checkers for use with the board sized to be received by either the playing squares or nonplaying squares, and means to releasably interlock said board sections in temporarily assembled relationship in a common plane to make up a complete checkerboard, said means comprising an underlying plate engaging below the board sections, upstanding interlock elements on said plate, said board sections having bottom recesses receiving the interlock elements removably, and said bottom recesses formed by upwardly formed hollow bosses whose tops produce the bottom faces of the playing squares. 